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Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World preview shows fans busting moves, mystery block

Katy Kelly Jan 16, 2020
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Electropop outfit Galantis and pop singer Charli XCX made a Mario-influenced bop to promote USJ’s latest land!

Here we are in 2020! There’s so much to look forward to in this year, and Japan has a particularly full schedule: the production for JAXA’s space craft starts, synthetic pop idol Hatsune Miku gets a shiny new voice bank, and also…have you heard of this little thing called the Olympic Games?

If you’re heading to Japan to watch the Games you’ll want to take in some other sights and sounds, and where better than Universal Studios Japan? Located in the thriving Kansai region, USJ is celebrating 2020 with a new addition of its own: the opening of the long-awaited Super Nintendo World. And just in case you’d missed the memo about this Famicon-flavored feature, they’ve released a brand new trailer.

▼ Let’s a-go!

The commercial opens on a variety of people, alone or in families, at home or in outer space; and every one of them is enjoying some good old Mario content on their Nintendo Switch consoles. It’s not long before the fun bursts out of the small screens: a huge, green pipe forms in each area, perfect for leaping down!

▼ Presumably you go through a ticket gate in real life, but this looks way cooler.

Each visitor is equipped with a snappy Mario watch mid-descent and is swiftly deposited into Super Nintendo Land. It’s a glorious utopia filled with bright colors, sparkling coins and a host of familiar faces; Goombas, Koopa Troopers, Piranha Plants and a rainbow of different Yoshis inhabit cartoony landscape, and we even get a glimpse of Mario as he heads towards a sinister Bowser flag in the distance.

Our cast of Nintendo fanatics race after Mario, newly crowned with bright red Mario caps of their own. The watches connect to each person’s phone and it’s time to start the game — because, as singer Charli XCX sings from atop Peach’s Castle, “we were born to play.”

▼ A pixel paradise is waiting for you to platform across it!

The commercial then showcases the interactivity of the land in various angles, following participants as they duck, weave and dance around fireballs and hop over Bullet Bills. This all leads towards a huge dance party in the center plaza where guests are showered with coins and Super Stars.

Then it’s over to the racing track, where challengers team up in a go-kart to best Bowser and his litter of evil children.

Once Bowser is thwarted by a guest riding a Yoshi through the sky, it’s time to finally capture his flag… And our guests are given an audience with Mario, the platforming plumber himself, to end out the ad.

Now, obviously this is a highly sensationalized commercial with tons of CG animation and exaggerated levels of interactivity. We know that Mario is far too busy and famous to interact with mere peasants like us one-on-one, even if we did go all the way to his theme park. What the commercial does provide us with though is a more concrete idea of what’s offered at the park — its mission goal, as it were.

The watch and smartphone app suggests an augmented reality vibe where guests can go around the park picking up coins and power-ups, and its emphasis on its hyper-faithful terrain means you really can expect to navigate the park like a big, chunky Mario level. The hotly rumored Mario Kart ride gets spotlighted, as does riding on multicolored Yoshis in some form.

▼ It remains to be seen if we can hang out with Princess Peach and Toadette.

Even without real-world footage, this clip has plenty of rewatch value; the colors pop, the digital characters feel fluid and alive, and there’s no denying the serotonin rush when the main Mario melody kicks in, amped up and injected with a new electronica twist. Try to get all the words memorized before the park opens this summer!

Source, images: YouTube/Nintendo
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